Harvey Weinstein Charged in NYC Jury Trial

On Feb. 24, 2020, Harvey Weinstein, once one of the most highly-coveted producers in Hollywood, was found guilty of 2 felony sex crimes, including rape and criminal sexual act. He was, however, acquitted of three additional charges of sexual predation, or predatory sexual assault.

Weinstein first made national news for his acts when The New York Times published a story by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey setting forth decades worth of sexual harassment allegations against him in Oct. 2017. 

In the days and weeks following the initial story, hundreds of new allegations came out against Weinstein, from actresses like Angelina Jolie, Gwyneth Paltrow, Rose McGowan, Lupita Nyong’o, and Cara Delevigne. Allegations of sexual harassment and rape came forward from as far back as several decades ago against the producer, and just weeks after The New Yorker story, Weinstein was fired by the board of his own company and expelled from the Oscars; both effective immediately. He was stripped of his Du Bois medal awarded to him by Harvard University and nearly all productions planned to happen with the company that bore his name halted completely. On Oct. 10, 2017, Georgina Chapman, Weinstein’s wife, announced she was leaving him as she prioritizes her young children.

“We’re at a watershed moment, this is a sea change… His last name will become a noun and a verb. It will become an identifying moniker for a state of being for which there was a before and an after,” Tom Hanks told The BBC after being asked about the former producer. 

Just months after the initial story, a follow-up story was published with allegations dating as far back as the 1970s. This story, enumerating accounts from movie stars to staff members of The Weinstein Company, to concert venue staffers, included something even bigger than the already heavy allegations; it included alleged offers of hush money, millions of dollars worth. He supposedly sought to pay his victims in exchange for their silence. 

Fast forward to May 25, 2018, Weinstein turned himself in to New York police, where he was charged with rape in addition to several other accounts of sexual abuse against two women who remain unnamed. The next day, he was released on $1 million bail, began wearing a GPS tracker, and gave up his passport. On May 31, 2018, a grand jury indicted him on charges of rape and a criminal sexual act, to which he pleads not guilty in June 2018. 

Nearly one year later, Weinstein and his former company reached a settlement deal in which they would pay $44 million to alleged victims. Several of his accusers came forward in rejection of the deal. 

Fast forward again to 2020. Weinstein’s trial process began on Jan. 6, 2020 in New York City. Once the jury was selected, the trial against him began on Jan. 22, 2020. Throughout the trial, the jury heard of several accounts against Weinstein from Annabella Sciorra, known for her role in “The Sopranos”, Jessica Mann, and Mimi Haleyi, a former production assistant. The hearing of evidence concluded on Feb. 18, when the jury began its deliberations. 

On February 24, the jury returned to the courtroom with a decision, where Weinstein was charged with the sexual assault of Mimi Haleyi in 2006 and the rape of Jessica Mann in 2013.

The decision of the jury was met by heavy praise from the survivors of Weinstein’s decades of abuse, and for the jury that recognized the predatory behavior of the former producer. Accusers of Weinstein, including Ashley Judd and Rosanna Arquette, took to Twitter to express their gratitude for the decision and for the #MeToo movement, which empowered women to speak up about their experiences. 

Weinstein will be sentenced on March 11, 2020, where he faces up to 29 years in prison.